Aqualad and the Lost Boy
by Ktkat9
Summary: Aqualad's first time out as Aquaman's sidekick was going to be a boring patrol on the docks of Gotham City. Going to be. He hadn't counted on finding a lost child. But, while most children would be frightened about being lost in such a place, this boy seems to just want to play. Because that's all it is, right? A game? Batman wouldn't really have a sidekick that young. No way.


_"Aquaman to Aqualad. Over."_ The voice of his king and mentor crackled into the twelve year old Atlantean's ear.

"I read you. Over." Kal- _Aqualad_ replied. He was Aqualad now. This was his first time actually being allowed into the field, and he wasn't going to blow it. He was going to show Aquaman he had what it took to make it as a hero.

 _"How are you doing down there? Find anything yet?"_

"No, my king. Not yet." As this was just his first time out, he knew his mentor had planned on patrol. Nothing too dangerous. His job was to monitor the docks and beach while Aquaman took the surrounding rooftops. So far, the most exciting thing he'd found was a dead raccoon.

 _"Well, don't worry. This is Gotham, after all. Something's boun- speak of the devil. Aqualad, remain where you are. I repeat, remain where you are."_ His voice changed suddenly to mean business.

"Aww, why can't I come?" Aqualad blinked in surprise at the high-pitched voice coming from right above him. He quickly sent out his reply, and then floated out from under the dock where he'd been hiding.

"Hello?" Seated on an old crate was a young boy. That in itself was surprising, as this was Gotham city, and nighttime, at that. But this boy also happened to be dressed like a traffic light. "Are you lost?" The boy stared at him in surprise.

"Who are you?" He lowered his hand, and Aqualad realized he'd had it to his ear, probably pretending that he was talking in a comm. He must have seen the Atlantean talking into his.

"My name is Aqualad. Are you lost?"

The boy smiled. "No, but you must be. This is Gotham, not Atlantis."

Aqualad smiled back. "I'm aware. I'm on patrol with Aquaman. What are you doing out here?"

"I'm helping Batman."

'I'll have to wait until Aquaman is back. Until then, I guess its up to me to keep this kid occupied and safe.'

"Oh, really? And what are you doing to help him?" He asked, watching as the boy pulled out a smartphone.

"I guess I can tell you, since you're Aquaman's sidekick. I'm hacking into the security system of the building he's on. Batman told me to wait outside while he takes down the Riddler. But I can take out all his defense measures from here, as long as they're connected to something I can hack into."

"Wow. You must be very good to be able to do all of that. Can I see?" Playing along with the little boy's fantasy, he lifted himself out of the water and took a seat by him on the crate. From his angle, he was able to see the screen, and was a bit surprised. He appeared to be playing some sort of encryption video game. While he knew that his knowledge of land's technology was limited, he had thought that their games, especially those meant for children as young as this one, would at least _look_ fun. This was modeled to look like the kid was _actually_ using it to hack into a mainframe.

"Man, his power bill must be crazy. Do you see how much he has hooked up? And I can access it all." The boy turned his head and smiled up at him. "What should I hack first? The lights, or the lasers?"

"Um, the lights. Batman can avoid the lasers, and darkness is better for him to hide in. Not to mention, the Riddler would be at a disadvantage." The talking traffic signal nodded, seemingly accepting this logic.

"Not bad. I can see why Aquaman chose you. Killing the lights now, feel free to move in when you see an opening, Batman." He spoke into his pretend comm again. "Now, what next?" The boys sat in silence for a moment, contemplating their next move. "Killing the lasers, too. Hmm." The boy stopped tapping on the screen, looking thoughtful. "It just seems like such a waste."

"What do you mean?" Aqualad tilted his head.

"Why should I just take the lasers _out_ , when I can use them against him? It's not that hard to make them work in our favor. I just have to point them in a different direction."

Aqualad frowned, too. If the kid lost interest in the game, he would have to find another way of keeping him occupied until his mentor returned. And, with a kid like this, he knew that wouldn't be easy. "What if we took it a bit farther?" he reminded himself that this was just a game, that Batman wouldn't ever _really_ hire this kid, and explained. "This is the Riddler. He prides himself on taunting and throwing his opponents off their game. What if we used the lasers to turn the tables on him?"

The kid caught on, and his eyes widened. "Oh, I like the way you think. Lasers now primed and ready. What do you want to tell the Riddler?"

"Oh. Um, no thanks. You go first."

He shrugged. "Oh well, your loss. Lets see. How about 'roses are red, violets are blue, your trap stinks and so do you'?"

Aqualad laughed out loud. This kid was good. "Did you just come up with that?"

The tiny gamer raised his head in the air in pride, grinning broadly. "Yes. Ooh, this guy's got a digital billboard! All the possibilities."

"Okay, I got one. How about you-,"

"Oop, sorry, just give me one second. I have to deactivate the weapons defense. He's got guns, and buzz saws, and more lasers, and- whoa. Wait. Are those robots?" He chuckled. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Batman readied another Batarang and dove out of the way of the swinging arm of one very sharp robot. It had a drill for it's 'hand', and was unfortunately light on its feet. It, and its friends, as there were at least ten more, was starting to be a real pain in the neck for him and Aquaman, who had arrived just as things started turning south.

Suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, every robot froze, stepped into formation, and, while Batman and Aquaman prepared themselves for a major assault, began dancing the Macarena. The two heroes looked at each other, wondering if this was another trick of their enemy, when the billboard began to flash. Expecting another riddle, they were both surprised, though the Dark Knight didn't show it, when instead every scene of the Avengers beating Loki began to play, each taking up a little piece of the screen. Then words scrolled across the screen.

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

"'Jokesters lose wherever you go. Get used to it'. I like it. Although, I can't say the same for Riddler." The boy laughed.

Aqualad found himself really enjoying this game as well. It was far more fun than patrol, and it was almost like he was actually helping to take down one of Gotham's worst. It was only about twenty minutes later, though, that his comm crackled back to life.

 _"Aquaman to Aqualad. Do you read me? Over."_

"This is Aqualad. Over."

 _"I am heading to your position now. Did anything happen while I was gone?"_

The Atlantean glanced at the boy, who was now pretending to listen into a comm as well. "I found a lost child."

 _"Alright. I'm almost there. We'll find out where he belongs."_

"Okay."

"See you soon, Batman." The boy said into his 'comm'. "Well, it looks like we did a good job. The Riddler just got sent back to Arkham."

"That's great. And I have some good news as well. Aquaman is on his way, so we're going to find out where you belong. Don't worry." The boy shot his a look, like he couldn't figure out if the older was telling the truth or not. "And that means you get to meet a member of the Justice League. Won't that be exciting?"

"Aqualad." He turned at the sound of his name. There, just ten feet away from the two of them, was Aquaman . . . and Batman. He shook off his surprise and addressed his mentor.

"This is the boy I found. He seems to be a fan of yours, Batman."

"He's not a fan." The Dark Knight replied, walking over and picking the pint sized hacker up. "He's my protégé." And with that, the two were gone.

"Wait. Then, that was Robin? The boy you were telling me about?" Aqualad asked in shock.

His mentor chuckled at him. "Yeah. Surprising little guy, isn't he?"

Aqualad nodded, then froze, realization sinking in. He closed his eyes and groaned. "That wasn't a videogame he was playing. Was it?"

Aquaman just laughed.

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Well? What do you all think? Please let me know!


End file.
